Pin setting device for bowling alleys



April5; 1932. R. A. WILLIAMS I PIN SETTING DEVICE FOR BOWLING ALLEYSFiled April 13, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 VII/IA I l/l1 Apr-i155, 1932.-

R. A. WILLIAMS 1,852,870 PIN SETTING DEVICE FOR BOWLING ALLEYS FiledApril 13, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 as g by Patented Apr. 5, 1932 UNITEDSTATES PATENT. OFFICE RAYMOND A. WILLIAMS, OIE ARLINGTON, MASSACHUSETTSPIN SETTING DEVICE FOR BOWLING ALLEYS Application filed April 13,

This invention relates to bowling alleys in which the pins are adaptedto be automatically set and has for its object the production of adevice for receiving the pins in an inclined position from a pluralityof pin conduits and subsequently moving them into -vertical position andaccurately setting them overhead support 18.

on the surface of the alley.

This object is attained by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, one preferred formthereof is illustrated in the drawings, this form having been found togive satisfactory and reliable results, although it is to be understoodthat the various instrumentalities of which the invention consists canbe variously arranged and organized, and the invention is not limited tothe precise arrangement and org'ani:

zation of these instrumentalities as herein shown and described exceptas required by tionof said elevating and-lowering mechanism. Y

-Similar characters indicate like parts throughout the several figuresof the draw 7 ings.

In the drawings, 10 is the pit end of a bowling alley having side walls11.

In the side walls 11 are vertical channels 12 into which extend rollers13 on the opposite sides of a member 14 adapted to be reciprocated.vertically between the side walls 11,- 11. I

' Secured to this member 14 atthe corners thereof are cables 15extending over pulleys 16 otatable in brackets 17 secured to some 1929.Serial mi. 354,950.

These cables extend to the head of the alley so that the bowler mayraise the member 14 until it comes into contact with a fixed top plate19 interposed between the two side walls 11, 11.

The cables 15 extend through holes in the fixed top plate 19.

Under normal conditions the member 14 is in the position. indicated inFig. 4 of the drawings, its upper face abutting the lower face ofthefixed plate 19, this member being held in this position by any wellknown locking means at the head of the alley "coacting with the cables15.

As this locking means forms no part of the present invention, it isdeemed unnecessary to illustrate the same.

weight of the member 14 will move it from the position indicated infulllines in Fig.

4 to its lowest position resting on the alley as indicated by dottedlines in said F ig. 4.

To the upper face of the plate 19 are mounted blocks 20 supporting thelower ends of flexible conduits 21, the upper ends of which communicatewith a pin magazine.

For convenience, only one of these pin conduits 21 is shown but it isobvious that in the alley there are ten of these conduits,

each one extending to an opening 22 in the plate 19.

When the pin magazine is opened pins will be delivered therefrom intothe conduits 21 and ordinarily several pins will be in each of theseconduits as indicated,-in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

At 23 each'conduit has hinged thereto a gate 24 having a downwardprojection 25 as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

The member 14 has a plurality of holes 26 corresponding to the holes inthe top plate 19 As soon as the cables 15 are-unlocked, the

and alined therewith, these openings having their rear walls inclinedand in the same plane with the inclined rear walls of the openings 22. p

Beneath the forward ends of the opening 26. are cylindrical holes 27slightly larger than the diameter of the pin 28 being used upon thealley.

When the member 14 is in its upper position in contact with the underface of the plate 19, the forward end of each gate 24 will rest upon theupper face'of this member 14 so that pins may be discharged from theconduits 21 into the openings 26, 26, as indicated. in Fi 2 of thedrawings.

Within t e member 14 is a chamber 29 in which a spider 30 is adapted toreciprocate.

The cross members of this spider 30 are immediately behind the inclinedpins 28.

Between the two parallel bars 31 forming part of the spider 30 are fixedblocks 32 serving as a guide for'the spider 30 when it is reciprocatedback and forth.

. The plate 19 has an elongated opening 33 therein and beneath thisopening and fixed to an upper face of the member 14 is a bracket 34which extends upwardly through said opening.

The upper end of the bracket 34 has pivoted thereto, at 35, a bell cranklever 36, one end of which is bifurcated as indicated in Fig. 4 andstraddles a pin 37 formed upon the rear cross bar 38 of the spider 30.

The other end of the lever 36 is pivotally connected at 39 to an arm 40having in its upper end an elongated slot 41 through which extends astud 42 projecting laterally from a downwardly extending bar 43 securedto the overhead support 18.

The length of the slot 41 is less than the length of movement of themember 14.

When the member 14 has a plurality of pins resting in the openings 26,with their lower ends abutting the front wall of the openings 26, saidmember may be lowered and during the lowering the arm 40 will movedownwardly until the upper end of the slot 41 comes into contact withthe stud 42.

The continuation of the lowering of this member 14 will then causev thebell crank lever 36 to be moved about its pivot 35 and tilt all the pins28 into a vertical position so that they may drop through the openings27 with their ends resting upon the upper face of the alley, all asindicated in dottedlines A in Fig. 4;

It will be noted that by means of this tilting mechanism the pins arenot moved into vertical position until the member 14 is near its lowestposition.

If the bowler then pulls upon the cables 15, the member 14 will bereturned to its normal position as indicated in Fig. 4, leaving the tenpins properly set upright upon the face of the alley.

As soon as the member 14 moves downwardly away from the fixed plate 19,each gate 24 by its own weight will move downwardly about its pivot 23so that the projection 25 will be in front of the exit of the conduit 21and will thereby prevent any pin within the conduit from passing intothe opening 22.

Upon the upward movement of the member 14, the upper face thereof willcontact with all of the gates 24 and lift them, removing the projections25 from the front of the discharge ends of said conduits 21, thuspermitting other pins to move downwardly into the openings 22, 26-,preparatory to the setting of another set of. pins.

When the member 14 commences to move upwardly, the weight 44 on thelever 36 will return the spider 30 to its normal position.

The member 14 is made up of four sheets of material as indicated in thedrawings, the two upper sheets of material having an outline asindicated in dotted lines 45 in Fig. 1.

It is believed that the operation and many advantages of the'inventionwill be understood readily without further description.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. In a bowling alley, afixed plate provided with a plurality of openings therein; conduits fordelivering pins to said openings in inclined position; amember normallyin contact with the under face of said plate and having openingstherethrough to receive said pins and temporarily retain them in theirinclined position; means-for lowering said member; a spider within saidmember adapted to be moved to tilt said pins into vertical position; abracket on said member; a bell crank lever pivoted to said bracket, oneend of which is pivotally connected to said spider; a fixed support; astud thereon; and an arm pivotally connected at one end to the other endof said lever and having an elongated slot in its opposite end throughwhich said stud projects.

2. In a bowling alley, a fixed plate provided with a plurality ofelongated openings therein adapted to contain inclined pins inparallelism; pin conduits for delivering pins to said openings; a gatefor each conduit adapted to control the discharge of pins therefrom; andmeans beneath and normally in contact with said plate adapted to belowered and in the lowering operation tilt said pins into verticalposition and set them upright upon the alley and simultaneously permitthe closing of all of said gates, said means i being adapted on itsupward movement to I open all of said gates.

3. In a bowling alley, a member having elongated parallel openingsadapted to contain inclined pins; means for-lowering said member; aspider within said member adapted to be moved to tilt said pins intovertical position; a bracket on said member; a bell crank lever pivotedto said bracket, one end of which is pivotally connected to said spider;a fixed support; a stud thereon; and an arm pivotally connected at oneend to the other end of said lever and having an elongated slot in itsopposite end through which said stud projects, said slot having a lengthless than that of the movement of said member.

4. In a bowling alley, a fixed plate provided with a plurality ofopenings therein; a pin' conduit for each opening adapted to deliver apin thereto in an inclined position; pinreceivin means beneath andnormally in contact with said plate adapted to be lowered and in thelowerin operation move said pins into vertical position and set themupright upon the alley; and a vertically movable gate for eachconduitabove said plate and normally'retained raised by contact with saidreceiving means, said gate being adapted to move downwardly and preventthe discharge of pins therefrom during the downward movement of saidlowering means and adapt ed to be opened again by contact with saidlowering means during the upward movement of said lowering means.

5. In a bowling alley, a fixed plate provided with a plurality ofpassages therein; a pin conduit for each passage adapted to deliver.

a pin thereto in an inclined position; a pinreceiving member beneath andnormally in contact with said plate having openings therein registeringwith'said passages, said openings having inclined upper walls andcylindrical lower ends; means for lowering said member; and meanscarried by said member adapted to be mbved into direct contact with thelower sides of all of said inclined v pins during the lowering operationand move said pins into vertical position upright in said cylindricallower ends and set them upon tlie alley. p

6. In a bowling alley, a fixed late provided with a plurality ofpassages t erein; a pin conduit for each passage,adapted"to' deliver apin thereto in an inclined position; 'apinreceiving member beneath andnormally in contact with said plate having openings thereinregisteringwith said passages, said openings having upper inclined wallsto su port said pins in inclined fposition andcylin rica] lower endsmeans or lowering said member; and a spider carried by said memberadapted to be movedv horizontally into contact with the lower sides ofall ofsaid inclined pins during the lowering operation and move saidpins into vertical posltion in said cylindrical lowernds therebypositioning them vfor disposal upright upon the alley.

7. In a bowlingalley a fixed plate pro vided with a lurality of openingstherein; a pin conduit or each opening adapted to deliver a pin theretoin an inclined position; a gate for each conduit adapted to control thedischarge of pins therefrom; means beneath and normally in contact withsaid plate adapted to be lowered and in thelowering operationmove saidpins into vertical posiings in inclined position; a member ly in contactwith the under face of said with anextension normally resting upon the 1upper face of said lowering means. I

8. In abowling'alley, a member having a plurality of openingstherethrough having upper inclined walls adaptedto support pins ininclined position therein, said openmgs having cylindrical lower endsand said member having an elongated horizontal chamber therein abovesaid cylindrical lower ends;

means for lowering said member {and reciprocating means enclosed withinthechamber of said member for simultaneously contacting with and movingall of said pins into vertical position in said cylindrical ends dur-,ing the lowering operation preparatory to settin them upright upon thealley.

9. n a bowling alley, a fined plate provided with a lurality. ofopenings therein; conduits for elivering pins to said OPGIirma plate andhaving openingsytherethrough' to receive said pins and having inclinedwalls adapted to temporarily support said pins in 1 their inclinedposition; means for lowering said member; a slidable spider within anelongated horizontal chamber in said mem ber normally free from contact'withsaid pins but adapted to bemo'vedinto contact with all of saidpinsand tilt theminto vertical position; abracket extending upwardlyfrom said member; a bell c rank lever pivoted to said bracket, one endof which is 'pivotally connected tosaid spider; and means depending froma fii'zed member and'cbnnected to'the opposite end of said lever formoving it about its pivot during thelowering of said member.

10. In a bowling alley, a fixed plate provided with a plurality ofpassages therein adapted to receive pins in parallelism; means beneathand normallyain contact with said plate and adapted to be lowered, saidmeans aving openings therein in register with said passages with upper.inclined Walls adapted to su port said pins in inclined position, saidopenings having cylindrical lower ends; and

,mechanism carried by said lowering means adapted in the loweringoperation to be moved into direct contact with the lowersides of allofsaid pins and tilt them into vertical registering with said. passagesand having position upright in said cylindrical lower upper inclinedwalls adapted to support said ins in inclined positions, said openingshavmg cylindrical lower ends; means for lowering said member; and. meanscarried .by said member adapted during the lowering operationto be movedinto direct contact with the lower sides of all of said pins and tiltthem into vertical position upright in said cylindrical lower ends uponthe alley.

12. In a bowling alley, a fixed plate provided with a plurality ofelongated passages therein adapted to receive inclined pins inparallelism; a. member beneath and normally in contact with said platehaving elongat ed openings therein in register with said passages, eachof said openings having an inclined upper wallto support ,a pin ininclined position and provided with a cylindrical lower end; means forlowering said member; and a spider carried by and slidable within saidmember above said cylindrical lower ends adapted during the loweringoperation to be moved against the lower sides of said inclined pins andcause them to be tilted into vertical position within said lower endsand set upright upon the alley.

13. In a bowling alley, a member having a plurality of elongatedopenings therethrough with inclined upper walls adapted to supportinclined pins therein in parallelism and having cylindrical lower ends;means for lowering said member; reciprocating means carried by saidmember normally free from contact with said pins but movable into contact with the lower s'ides thereof during the lowering of said memberthereby simultane-= ously tilting all of said pins into verticalposition with said cylindrical lower ends and setting them upright uponthe alley; and means for returning said tilting means to its normalposition during the upward movement of said member.

14. In a bowling alley, a member having a plurality of elongatedopenings therethrough adapted to support inclined pins therein inparallelism, each opening having a cylindrical lower end and said.member having an elongated horizontal chamber therein; means forlowering said member; reciprocating means within the chamber of saidmember for simultaneously contacting with the lower sides of all of saidpins and tilting them into vertical position within said cylindricallower ends during the lowering operation and setting them upright uponthe alley; and means for actuating said tilting means only when saidmember in its downward movement is adjacent the alley.

15. In a bowling alley, a fixed plate provided with a plurality ofpassages therein;

a pin conduit for each passage adapted to deliver a pin thereto in aninclined position; pin-receiving means beneath and normally in contactwith said .plate adapted to be lowered and in the lowering operationmove said pins into vertical position and set them up right upon thealley; and a weighted vertically movable gate for each conduit abovesaid plate and normally supported by said pinreceiving means in raisedposition and adapted to lower and close said conduit during the downwardmovement of said lowering means thereby preventing the discharge ofother pins from said conduit.

16. In a bowling alley, a fixed plate pro operation and move said pinsinto vertical position upright upon the alley and a weighted gate hingedto each conduit having a downward projection, said gate normally restingon said member in raised position and adapted to move downwardly withsaid projection opposite the exit of said conduit when said member islowered.

17. In a bowling alley, a fixed plate provided with a plurality ofpassages therein; a pin conduit for each passage adapted to deliver apin thereto in an inclined position; means coactin'g with said conduitfor preventing the discharge therefrom of more than one pin duringeachpin setting operation; a member beneath and normally in contact withsaid plate having openings therein in register with said passages withinclined upper walls to support said pins in inclined position, saidopenings being cylindrical at their lower ends; means for lowering saidmember; and a spider carried by said member adapt-ed to be moved intocontact with the lower. sides of all of said inclined pins at apredetermined time during the lowering operation thereby moving saidpins into vertical position in said cylindrical lower ends and settingthem upright upon the alley.

18. In a bowling alley, a fixed plate provided with a plurality ofparallel elongated openings therein adapted to contain pins in inclinedposition; a laminated member normally in contact with the under face ofsaid plate and having elongated parallel openings in the upperlamination beneath the openings in said plate, said last mentionedopenings being cylindrical in the lower lamination; means for loweringsaid member; a slidable spider within said member adapted to be movedduring the lowering of said member into contact with said pins and tiltthem into vertical position; and means for returning said spider to itsnormal position during the upward movement of said member..

Signed by me at 294 lVashington St, Boston, Mass, this 9th day of April,1929.

RAYMOND A. WILLIAMS.

